She Can Just Say You're Dating
by Dr. Breifs Cat
Summary: Tony and Rhodey discuss Tony's apparent romantic involvement with Pepper. Takes place after "Iron Man 2099."


All standard disclaimers apply. Also-special ones.

**She Can Just Say You're Dating (And That Means You Are)**

"So..." Tony begins, as they walk from the armory up to the house, "I think Pepper and I are dating?"

"You think?" Rhodey repeats. "Isn't that something you should know?"

The two properties border one another and the short distance is fairly distraction-free. Trudging up the hill shoulder to shoulder, after all their other pursuits have resolved themselves for the day, is the perfect time for a quick chat. There's too much to do in the armory. School comes with its own brand of distractions.

"Well," Tony ruminates, "she says we are."

"Huh," Rhodey grunts thoughtfully. "Well, what do you think?"

"I don't know," Tony answers, not particularly enthused. "I guess it's okay."

"I always thought you liked her," Rhodey admits.

"I do," is Tony's immediate answer, but he quickly amends it: "I think. It's just - look. Whitney dumped me because I flaked out on her too many times. With Iron Man and Stark Solutions, it isn't like I have less going on in my life. I'm just gonna flake out on Pepper, too."

"Yeah," Rhodey agrees, "but the difference is Pepper knows about all that. She's been bugging you for a suit of her own since forever _and_ she's working with us at Stark Solutions."

"Yeah," Tony returns, with an uncomfortable roll of his shoulders.

"Man," Rhodey says, shaking his head, "You know, if she can just say you're dating and that means you are, I'm surprised she didn't do it ages ago."

"Really?" Tony can't contain his grin, or the way his eyes widen with surprise.

Playfully, Rhodey smacks him on the shoulder. "She's way into you!"

Tony stumbles, but his grin has grown into a broad smile. "You think so?"

Arching one eyebrow, Rhodey says, "I've been going to school with her since fifth grade and asking if you're single was the first time she ever spoke to me." It's a slight exaggeration, but only _slight_.

"Really?"

Rhodey shakes his head again. "This is not news," he says, torn between frustration and amusement. Tony is said to be a genius, but it does not stop the boy from being dense.

"She dated Happy," Tony counters derisively.

"To make you jealous," Rhodey reminds him.

"Yeah...I thought that, too," Tony admits, "but she kept going out with him." _Maybe it wasn't about me_ goes unspoken. He won't voice that possibility. It is too unpleasant to consider.

"But she stopped," Rhodey answers.

"Yeah."

"And is going out with you."

Tony shrugs. "Apparently."

"I hope you're more lively than this when you're with her."

The other boy grimaces. "I mostly...kind of panic?"

Rhodey laughs. "Smooth, man."

"She sprung it on me!" Tony protests. "I should have made the first move. My move would have been awesome!"

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"I don't know yet. She should have waited for it to come to me."

"What about Pepper makes you think she's patient?" Rhodey asks.

"Point," Tony concedes with a tip of his head.

The conversation ends as they reach the house. Rhodey's mother has particularly acute senses when it comes to their brand of trouble. It is impossible to entirely compartmentalize the lives of the three children from those of Team Iron Man. Even idle gossip may eventually lead toward information about their extracurricular activities. Her ears are always listening, they know this, even when she is no where to be seen. Rhodey has sworn on more than one occasion that she knew about things he'd mentioned when she wasn't even home. Vigilance requires that they let the conversation go.

Sometimes, however, that is easier said than done. The cohesiveness of the group is at stake with the development of whatever it is that is happening between Tony and Pepper. More than that, Rhodey doesn't want to see either of his friends set themselves up for heartbreak. Though he has always suspected Tony was attracted to the girl, nothing about his description of their relationship has made Rhodey very sure of that.

"You do like her, right?" Rhodey asks suddenly.

Tony blinks. He stops short, freezes. "She's...she's Pepper, you know?"

His friend shrugs. "Because, you know I'm on your side no matter what, but as her closest guy friend after you, I think I'm obligated to punch you if you're leading her on."

"I'm not," Tony answers.

"_Good_," Rhodey pronounces emphatically, "because that would suck if our superhero team fell apart because of this and I had to punch you."

"So no pressure!"

"How many times have you guys gone out, anyway?" Rhodey asks. "Like once? If making the first move is that important to you, you've got some leeway."

"Okay, first, vocabulary?" Tony scoffs, "Let's talk about what 'first' means. And second, you didn't see Andros."

"So?" Rhodey questions. His involvement with Tony's time-traveling supposed grandson had been fringe, at best, but at this point in the relationship, the grandchildren was not something to be thinking about.

"So he had red hair," Tony says harshly.

"So?"

"So, what if Pepper's like..his grandmother?" Tony half-whispers.

His drama is a overdone. Rhodey asks reasonably, "Did he _say_ she was?"

Tony shrugs. "He didn't really talk to her."

"Did he say she was?" Rhodey repeats.

"No," Tony admits, "he didn't say anything about anyone but me."

It is Rhodey's turn to shrug. "Then my advice is going to be don't worry about it."

"I'm not worried," Tony corrects him. He scowls, then admits curtly, "I'm just tired of not being in control of my life."

"Yeah, well, get used to that." Rhodey says, crossing his arms. "_Nobody's_ in control."

"I used to be," Tony replies, with a tone that is half-wistful.

"You used to be," Rhodey reminds his friend, "a, _no offense_, spoiled home-school kid whose dad let him do whatever he wanted."

"And I was in control then!"

Rhodey shakes his head. "If you want to think that, I can't stop you."

Tony glares. "What do you think I ought to do?"

"I think if you're mad that you're not in control, you better get over it," Rhodey advises. "Pepper's not going to sit back and wait for you do whatever. That Andros guy kind of ceased to exist, so letting him decide for you would be pretty dumb."

"I'm not letting anyone decide anything for me! I don't like that maybe my future's decided for me already and I don't want to screw this up." Tony grimaces as his own words. "Kinda at the same time."

"Well, the sad truth is you are gonna screw up."

"Thanks."

"But the good news is," Rhodey adds brightly, "she's probably used to that by now."

Annoyed, Tony wonders, "Where are you going with this?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Rhodey answers. "I don't know what your future's gonna be, and neither do you and neither does she. If you want this thing with you and Pepper to last, treat her right. If you don't, tell her. If you don't know what you want, tell her that, too. With her new armor and Stark Solutions, we've kind of got a lot riding on you two not hating each other."

Tony is dismissive. "We're not going to hate each other."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Guess I'll keep on doing what I've been doing," Tony answers after a moment, taking a turn for the caviler. "I mean, it got me a girlfriend, so obviously it works."

"So does that mean the awesome move is out?"

"No, no, that's still in. In fact, I've figured out exactly what it's gonna be." Tony winks. "Like you said, _her armor_."


End file.
